by DailyDigest

This is Good News Friday, where we find some good economic, energy, and environmental news and share it with PP readers. Please send any positive news to [email protected] with subject header "Good News Friday." We will save and post weekly. Enjoy!

Economy

Like weather forecasters predicting sunny skies in Southern California, economists have watched the labor market produce consistent monthly increases in hiring recently. “I’ve never seen such a steady stream of gains — there’s no volatility in the numbers,” said Ellen Zentner, chief United States economist at Morgan Stanley.

At the pharmacy, a pair of single use Mylan epipens can cost over $600 and the company’s generic version costs $300 per pair, but an ongoing shortage means you probably can’t find them, even if you can afford them. In response, Four Thieves published the instructions for a DIY epipen online that can be made for $30 in off-the-shelf parts and reloaded for $3. Shkreli drove the price of the lifesaving HIV medicine Daraprim sells up to $750 per pill. So Four Thieves developed an open source portable chemistry lab that allows anyone to manufacture their own Daraprim for just 25 cents apiece.

Francis wrote in a March 2015 letter to the president of the International Commission Against the Death Penalty that “today capital punishment is unacceptable, however serious the condemned’s crime may have been.”

The long life of both heart pumps is a testament to how well it was designed, Dr. Kilic says. And the technology keeps improving. When LVADs were introduced, the external support equipment was the size of a refrigerator; today, it can fit in the palm of your hand. The pumps’ potential long-term use is good news because there aren’t enough available donor hearts.

Scientists have expressed concern that the application of these cells would result in malignant tumors. Last year, however, the research team from Kyoko University successfully used iPS cells to restore normal brain function in monkeys without any sign of tumors over the course of the 2-year study.

Episodic memories are autobiographical memories of specific past events. In Proust’s case, the smell of Madeleines triggered memories about his aunt’s “old grey house upon the street, […] and with the house the town, from morning to night and in all weathers, the square where I used to be sent before lunch, the streets along which I used to run errands, the country roads we took when it was fine.”

The boxes were constructed from light-gauge painted steel, with an arched top to prevent water and snow from accumulating and to help the structure maintain its shape. The arch also helped with mass-production, reducing the need for precisely bent sheets. A front latch mechanism helped protect mail inside the box. With just two rivets, three axle bolts and four screws and nuts, it was simple, durable and inexpensive. A second, larger version was developed in 1929 for bigger parcels. Free of patent restrictions, the design initially took off in rural areas, then later in suburbs during the post-WWII building boom.

“This little cutie decided that it was a bit too humid out today and was looking for some relief!” the police explained in their post. “Officers Thumhart, Bakker and McCarthy were able to use the deer rescue training they learned in the academy (not really) to safely remove the deer from the pool. It then decided to take in some sun and relax for a few minutes, before running back into the woods to spread the word!”

While the eclipse was not visible in North America and those in South America only caught a glimpse of it at moonrise, residents will want to mark their calendars for the next total lunar eclipse, which falls on Jan. 21, 2019.

Of course, there are exceptions, the most glaring being the lead pollution of Flint, Michigan’s water brought on by crumbling infrastructure and government mismanagement. The toxic effects of lead can be especially troublesome in children, and even low levels of lead exposure have been linked to nervous system damage, learning disabilities, short stature and impaired hearing.

Gold & Silver

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